Rendering: Week 2 - Damien Hirst.

The article, which was published on New Republic Paper site on December 12, 2013  and called " Damien Hirst's Transition from Artist to Luxury Brand Is Complete" by Jason Pargo and tells us about the transformation of one of the best and Britain's richest living artist from just a man of art to national brand. It's necessary to point out, that author tells us, that one of the richest artists in the world severs his ties with the world’s most powerful art dealer, after 17 years of working together. Pargo  emphasizes the fact, that they were a perfect pair, Damien and Gogo: the impudent British trickster and the smooth American wheeler-dealer, each of them in his way elevating the art of the deal above art itself.  He also adds, that It was less than a year ago that Hirst and Gagosian foisted onto the world their enormous, absurd eleven-gallery exhibition of Hirst’s “complete” spot paintings, with the artist’s innocuous abstractions filling every one of the dealer’s spaces in what seemed less a presentation of Hirst’s work than an advertisement for Gagosian’s reach. Furthermore, one should not forget that author clearly gives us a thought, that Hirst really did have a major impact in the days of Young British Art, enough so that it’s of secondary importance whether anyone actually likes his later work.Moreover, Pargo proves the fact, that Mr. Hirst is simply there, a big shark in a small tank, forcing even those who aren’t interested to pay attention and even those who don’t like the work to put in on their walls and that Hirst has always been impervious to critical attacks or even to his collectors’ own distaste; he is, like a shark, in perpetual motion.  In addition to that, the author can't deny the fact, that the market for Hirst is going south—depressed, so the consensus goes, by his massive straight-from-the-factory auction of 223 works at Sotheby’s on the very day that Lehman Brothers collapsed. The author tell us, that the other side of the coin is the fact, even after the loss of patronage Hirst will still be represented by White Cube, the gallery based in London but with outposts in two of the four BRICs; they’re mounting a Hirst show in Hong Kong next February, and at Art Basel Miami Beach last week they quietly presented a few Hirsts, with mixed fortunes. It's necessary to admit the fact, that but then again, Ferraris and dog food are both not art, and Hirst, not just critically but economically, is no longer an actor in anything recognizable as artistic practice.The author draws a conclusion saying that Hirst is much closer to the luxury fashion houses or jewelry companies that glom onto the art world in search of collectors’ remaining millions, and he probably doesn’t need a gallery any more than Louis Vuitton does. and adds - a depressed market can always be mitigated through volume, we are learning, and his transition from artist to luxury brand is less a retreat than an apotheosis. So, ,my opinion, that the artist's vein is very fragile structure, and every thrombus, giving us a backstab from a real world, trying to change our behaviour, to mix our thoughts, to entangle our way сan lead to some incurable situation for the artist's mentality - we just can self-destruct our creative potential , to bet our talant just to pick up a poker pot of vanity and wealth - forgetting about your first art headspring.

Rendering - Week 1

This article was published on the January 28, 2013, by  Megan Gannon, on th FoxNews site , which is called "Nearly 400-year-old secret painting in Rembrandt masterpiece revealed" and tells us, that scientists may be one step closer to revealing a hidden portrait behind a 380-year-old Rembrandt painting.

It is undeniable fact for the author, that the masterpiece, "Old Man in Military Costume" by Dutch painter Rembrant Harmenszoon van Rijn, resides at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Cannon also adds, that scientists had noticed the painting bears faint traces of another portrait beneath its surface

What is more, new studies with more sophisticated X-ray techniques that can parse through the painting's layers give art historians hope that they may finally get to see who is depicted in the secret image.

The author can't deny the fact, that Alfeld ( key scientist ) and an international team used macro X-ray fluorescence analysis to examine a mock-up of Rembrandt's original, created by museum intern Andrea Sartorius, who used paints with the same chemical composition as those used by the Dutch master.

 Moreover, the reader should not forget that author clearly gives us a thought, that the scientists targeted four elements of the paint to fluoresce, including calcium, iron, mercury and lead, and got much better impressions of the hidden painting in the mock-up than they were able to before.

It's necessary to admit the fact, that the results of these studies will enable us determine the best possible approach to employ in our planned upcoming study of the real Rembrandt painting.

 To draw the conclusion, the author says that, that wasn't the first time scientists have delved into Rembrandt's paintings, becayse previous research revealed why his art possesses such calming beauty, finding the artist may have pioneered a technique that guides the viewer's gaze around a portrait, creating a special narrative and "calmer" viewing experience.

In my opinion, with the power of modern technologies people have a great chance to ressurect some poor old paintings, to explore the legend of unknown masterpieces and just to be able rapidly and accurately to help art not to fall into world of obscurity.

Albrecht Dürer: Self-Portrait .

In its directness and apparent confrontation with the viewer, the self-portrait is unlike any that came before. It is half-length, frontal and highly symmetrical; its lack of a conventional background seemingly presents Dürer without regard to time or place. The placement of the inscriptions in the dark fields on either side of Dürer are presented as if floating in space, emphasizing that the portrait has a highly symbolic meaning. Its sombre mood is achieved through the use of brown tones set against the plain black background. The lightness of touch and tone seen in his earlier two self-portraits has been replaced by a far more introverted and complex representation. In this work, Dürer's style seems to have developed into what art historian Marcel Brion described as "a classicism like that of Ingres. The face has the inflexibility and impersonal dignity of a mask, hiding the restless turmoil of anguish and passion within." Geometric analysis of the composition demonstrates its relatively rigid symmetry, with several highlights aligned very close to a vertical axis down the middle of the painting. However, the work is not completely symmetrical; his head is slightly right of centre, his hair not quite in the middle——the strands of hair fall differently on either side while his eyes look slightly to the left. The hardest thing for man without any special art education is to describe the painting, and especially a portrait-work, because you should have a very rich artistic vocabulary and to be ready to share some ideas, using art-terminology and creative vision. This self-portrait is the ideal image of art-mastery, where Dürer , a  German master,  portrayed himself in a remarkably sophisticated composition.The seeming calmness of a man сonceals a rebellious spirit and a storm of inner emotions. And with all this precise gestures, this creation of a master, brings us to the image of Christ - with a religious gesture, the uniqueness of the soul, showing us the  innermost thoughts  of the artist.